Suddenly, politicos love Abilene

But don't get used to all the attention, experts say; they'll be gone soon

Mike Huckabee, who hopes to beat Sen. John McCain in Tuesday's Texas Republican Primary, stopped in Abilene on Monday to rally supporters.

Video and editing by Sarah Kleiner Varble

Former President Bill Clinton made a last-minute campaign stop for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, in Abilene on Sunday. Hillary Clinton will face Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday in the Texas Democratic Primary. Clinton was about two hours late for his speech, largely because thunderstorms prevented him from landing. Nonetheless, hundreds waited in a hangar at Abilene Aero to hear him speak.

Video and editing by Sarah Kleiner Varble

Former President Bill Clinton addresses the crowd at Abilene Aero during his last campaign stop for the day. He started speaking at 10:43 p.m.

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks at a rally at the Taylor County Expo Center.

Political candidates sometimes treat Abilene like the girl no one wants to dance with at the prom.

But lately, would-be presidents aplenty have started showering the Key City with once-unrequited love.

&quot;We have watched the candidates go to Lubbock and Midland but not here until recently,&quot; said Paul Fabrizio, a McMurry University political science professor

In many respects, such is the natural order, Fabrizio said.

&quot;They should ignore us. We are a small market,&quot; he said.

&quot;They have to focus on the larger cities in the state.&quot;

But the times, appear to be changing -- at least temporarily, said Neal Coates, a political science professor at Abilene Christian University.

&quot;It's a close race in Texas,&quot; he said. &quot;It's that simple.&quot;

Hence, gifts from the political gods, such as a recent personal phone call from Democratic Party hopeful Barack Obama to the local newspaper and a personal appearance from former President Bill Clinton on Sunday night.

Throw in a Chuck Norris-backed appearance by Republican contender Mike Huckabee on Monday, and it has been a veritable political monsoon, compared to the normal dryness of a West Texas campaign.

Don't get used to all the attention, Coates said.

&quot;Come Wednesday, they'll all be gone,&quot; he said, following Texas' primary election today.

But for now, the Lone Star State, and even once oft-forgotten Abilene, figure highly in the political dreams of candidates in both major parties, said Dr. Jeffrey Key at Hardin-Simmons University.

Often, who will get the primary parties' nominations is mostly decided by this point, he said.

&quot;But Texas is actually going to figure into things this year,&quot; he said, especially with the Democratic nominee still up in the air.

Seeking Support

Strategies for tackling the Big Country, and Texas in general, vary, with some candidates stumping in places where they know they are popular, others seeking votes in still-contested areas.

Huckabee's arrival Monday indicates that his campaign is focusing on areas where he knows he will get votes, Fabrizio said.

Abilene &quot;should be a stronghold for Huckabee,&quot; he said, which made his appearance here somewhat &quot;surprising&quot; to Fabrizio.

&quot;He should have his base locked up,&quot; he said. &quot;He should be somewhere where he is convincing others to vote for him. He should not in the buckle of the Bible Belt consolidating his support.&quot;

&quot;It makes sense for him,&quot; he said. &quot;This area has an embedded number of social conservatives, so it's not really surprising that he would make Abilene a stop.&quot;

Still, Key doubted Huckabee carry the state in face of competition from John McCain.

McCain, fairly secure in his Republican nomination, &quot;does not owe us a visit,&quot; Fabrizio said.

&quot;He is also focusing on the bigger cities,&quot; he said. &quot;And he is starting to run a general election campaign. Therefore he needs to speak to independent voters and to the media. There are better places to do that then Abilene, unfortunately.&quot;

McCain is no doubt &quot;listening&quot; to what Huckabee has to say, but he's not paying much attention, especially to a smaller market like Abilene, Coates said.

&quot;Right now, he is doing what both Obama and Hillary Clinton want to do -- sew up all the major endorsements, all the major players in the Republican party,&quot; he said. &quot;The Democrats do not have that luxury right now.&quot;

On the Republican side, this election does not matter at the presidential level. Fabrizio said.

&quot;Huckabee is running to finish second,&quot; he said. &quot;McCain can safely ignore him and it has as it has shifted his attention to the Democrats.&quot;

Former President Bill Clinton's visit Sunday to support his wife says her campaign is &quot;focusing on every vote it can get,&quot; Fabrizio said.

&quot;Look at his travel schedule eight stops yesterday and about as many today,&quot; he said.

While Clinton focuses on Ohio, where she &quot;knows she can win,&quot; her husband's efforts are more a &quot;prevent defense,&quot; Fabrizio said to &quot;try to make it close here in Texas.&quot;

Key said he was fairly confident that we will &quot;know who the Democratic nominee is after (today),&quot; and he was not surprised to see the Clinton campaign taking such a personal interest in Texas.

Obama has earned great support in Texas's larger cities, especially among African Americans.

&quot;So the Clinton campaign has been looking for support from white, rural Democrats in Texas and Hispanics in the (Rio Grande) Valley,&quot; he said.

Key said if Obama can win Texas and Ohio, it would not surprise him to Clinton withdraw, though he noted a split victory, with Clinton taking Ohio, Obama taking Texas, could &quot;prolong the Democrats' agony&quot; a bit longer.

Sen. Clinton wants to stay in this race, fight another day, and continue into next month to the Pennsylvania primary, Coates said.

About three weeks ago, her advisors declared that she needed to win big in both Texas and Ohio for a chance to stay in the race, he said.

&quot;Now, she is saying that if she can win in Ohio and have a close second in Texas, that this race will go on,&quot; Coates said.

Fabrizio characterized a recent call to the Reporter-News from Obama as a &quot;mail-in effort.&quot;

&quot;He is not trying here because he does not need to,&quot; Fabrizio said. &quot;He is focusing on the bigger cities, and without a surrogate like Bill Clinton to help him he must be every place at once.&quot;

Obama's campaign conducted a triage on cities to decide what effort they should make.

&quot;Abilene merited a phone call of under five minutes to the ARN,&quot; he said.

But the fact that we're getting such attention at all indicates Obama's dream for his Texas campaign to deliver &quot;a knockout punch,&quot; Coates said.

Key said Obama's recent call to the newspaper shows he &quot;clearly intends to contest every part of every state&quot; where Clinton might seek a foothold -- and that he knew a Clinton, either Bill or Hillary, was likely to make an appearance here.

The Clinton campaign made a big mistake in thinking the race would be over by &quot;Super Tuesday,&quot; Fabrizio said.

&quot;They were wrong and they paid for it by having no staff or money in place here in Texas when Texas suddenly mattered after Super Tuesday,&quot; he said. &quot;The Obama campaign had a 50-state strategy, so they were better prepared with media buys, campaign staffers and volunteers all ready to go when Texas suddenly mattered.&quot;

The Clinton strategy was &quot;defensible,&quot; but it &quot;turned out to be wrong,&quot; Fabrizio said.